Marvel Studios have addressed growing concerns over the casting of characters for their upcoming Runaways film adaptation.

Comic Book Resources reports that Marvel have been forced to respond after a recently released casting call for the film failed to specify the correct ethnicity as a prerequisite for lead character Nico Minoru.

Nico Minoru aka Sister Grimm is a Japanese-American character in the critically acclaimed series and stands as the unofficial team leader of the group.

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Marvel Studios have now released a statement via Racebending.com regarding the casting of Nico and have edited their casting call to rectify this error.

"To address your concern over the casting for the role of Nico, as we do with all our films we intend to stay true to the legacy and story of the comic when casting these parts," the statement read. "Thus our goal is to cast an Asian American actress as depicted in the comic series."

Filming for Runaways is scheduled to begin in early 2011 with a release date still to be confirmed.